Horseshoe.



W. D. P. AIMS, JR.

HORSESHOE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 21, 1913.

Patented Apr; 14, 1914.

WILLIAM D. P. AIMS, JR., 9F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

HOBSESI-IOE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 314i, rem.

Application filed March 2. 1913. Serial No. 755,835.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, lVILLIAM D. P. AIMS, J12, citizen of the United States, and resident of Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented an Improvement in Horseshoes, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a construction of horseshoe in which the calks at the toe and rear portions may be changed to suit the requirements as to the condition of the road. or pavement and also the special needs due to the particular mannor in which the horse places his foot upon the ground or moves the hoof in the act of walking.

A shoe with interchangeable calks is very essential in climates where conditions are constantly varying and especially is this so where asphaltum pavements are employed which frequently, at short intermittent periods, become coated with ice by constant changes in temperature conditions. As it is objectionable to change the shoes on a horses hoof more than about once a month, and as these changes in road and street condition are liable to happen several times a month, it is important and most desirable that the body, of the shoe shall have provision whereby the nature of the'calks may be changed to meet the special conditions under which the horse is required to work. Furthermore, many horses do not place all of their feet flat upon the ground when walking, one side frequently touching before the other side; and the same is true in lifting the feet from the ground. It also frequently happens that the horse twists the foot sidewise both in placing thefoot upon the ground and in lifting it.

My improvements are intended to provide a construction of shoe with interchangeable calks, which will enable the driver to quickly apply such calks as are necessary to meet, not only the conditions of the road or street, but also to provide for the special requirements due to the peculiarity of the horse itself, in respect to the manner in which the foot is'placed upon the ground or removed therefrom, as above stated.

My invention consists of certain features which are fully described hereinafter, and which are more particularly defined in the claim.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved horseshoe; Fig. 2 is inverted plan view of the same. Fig. 3 represents a section on the longitudinal axis of the shoe; 4 represents a transverse section of a modified form of the toe calk. Figs. 5, 6, 7, and 8 are perspective views of the different forms of the rear calks for use with the shoe body to meet different special requirements; and Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the preferred form of bolt used in holding the rear calks in position.

In the general make up of my improved horse shoe, I have particularly kept in mind three main requirements for an economical shoe, namely: low cost of manufacture for a durable shoe, permanency of the body and replaceability of the hard steel calks or wearing parts, and capacity for interchanging the calks upon the same body several times a month if necessary, without disturbing the attachment of the shoe body to the horses hoof. By having the calks replaceable, they may be made of hardened steel so as to have great durability, while the body part may be of softer steel so as to be easily shaped to the size and condition of the hoof of the horse. These features provide a shoe, as a whole, which would greatly outlast ordinary shoes as now commonly made, and even if somewhat more in initial cost, the greater length of wear of the parts makes the shoe a much cheaper one when a long period of time is considered such as should be taken into account, in view of the fact that the horse must be shod for its whole period of existence.

I will now describe the specific preferred construction of my invention.

2 is the body of the shoe and is of conventional U shape, having the usual nail grooves and holes, but is provided with certain features of improvement in respect to the interchangeable calks which specific reference will now be made. At the end part of the open portion, there is a clownwardly projecting rib l, and immediately in front of said rib the body is provided with an aperture 8.

The toe calk is indicated at 5 and in plan, it is curved at the front portion and fiat at the rear portion, as indicated in Figs. 2 and 4. This calk 5, has a fiat upper surface S. which rests upon the bottom of the body of the shoe and is also furnished with an upwardly extendingtongue 7. which snugly fits the aperture 3 in the body of the shoe :maybe employed; but in winter weather,

and, in that way, holds the calk against lateral displacement relative to the body. The calk is held in place by means of a bolt 6 which has a square head that fits into a vertically grooved end in the calk, so as to be held against rotation and also thereby protected against injury. The rear end of the bolt extends through the rib 4, and is provided with a nut 11. Preferably, between the nut and the ribt, a lock washer 12 may be employed to prevent the nut from working loose. The lower edge 5 of the calk extends considerably below the rib at, so as to receive the wear.

In the particular toe calk shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the lower edge 5 is made straight and approximately of V or knife edge construction and is shaped and designed for ice covered or slippery pavements. vWhen the pavements arenot slippery, the knife edge portion 5 of the calk is not desirable and in this case the calk may be substituted by a corresponding one having a flat wearing surface 5, as shown in Fig. 4:. In this figure the bolt hole is indicated at 5 and the relative arrangement of the tongue 7 and surface is fully indicated. The shoe body, 2, at the rear part of each of its side portions, is provided with a downwardly extending lug 13 through which a clamping bolt 18- passes, for securing in position a rear calk 15. These rear calks are each provided with two upward extensions or side arms16, each fitting into vertical notches 1 1 on the opposite sides of the shoe body, said notches being close to the downwardly ex-v tending lug 13 against which the calk is clamped. The calk 15 is made of such width, in the direction of the length of the shoe, as will provide a shoulder or offset in advance of the upward extensions or arms 16 to receive the pressure of the shoe body. A- bolt 18, extending through the lug 13 and through the calk 15, is provided on its inner end with the nut 19 and may, if desired,-also be provided with a lock washer 12 corresponding to the washer 12 in connection with the bolt 6. If desired, the heads of these bolts may be formed polygonal, as indicated in Fig. 9 or in other suit able manner, by'which they do not freely rot-ate, as it is-desirable that they be held against rotation when tightening up the nuts. Each side of the shoe at the rear is provided with the same construction of lug, calk and bolt and, as in the case of the toe calk, the lower or wearing edge of-the rear calks project below the lugs 13. As shown in'Figs. 2 and 3, these calks 15 are beveled or knife edged at their wearing ends, but this is not essential, excepting for use under conditions of slippery surfaces. Forordinary weather, without ice upon the ground, flat treadcalks, such as shown in Fig. 6,

when the pavements are slippery from ice or other causes, then either of the calks shown in Figs. 2, 3, 5, 7, or 8 are employed.

In Figs. 2 and 3, the knife edges of the rear calks 15 extend transversely, and this is also true of a calk, such as shown in Fig. 8; but in the calks shown Figs. 5 and 7, the V or knife edge will extend longitudinally when the calk is clamped in position on the shoe body. In some cases, it will be necessary for a combination of two of these calks to be employed at the rear of the shoe; for

example, a calk such as 15, shown in Fig.

2, may be employed on one side and a calk such as shown in Figs. 5 and 6 or 7, may be employed upon the other side of the shoe and vice versa; similarly, a sharp calk may be employed at the toe portion and the tread calksof Fig. 6 at the rear portions, or vice versa; these changes being made to suit the conditlons of the pavement or the manner in which the horse places his foot upon the ground. For example, if, when a moderate precaution against slipping is requiredand the toe of the foot is applied. first upon the ground, then the toe calk may be sharp and the rear calks may be of the character shown in Fig. 6; if however, the horse places the rear of the foot upon the ground first; then the rear calks'must be sharp also.

If the horse has the tendency torotate the :foot in placing it-upon the ground, then one of the rear ca-lks should be similar to that of either F ig. 5 or 7 Thesevarious heel calks are interchangeable, so that the general wearing surface may be changed or modified to suit the conditions ofthe weather, and also to suit the conditions pe cuhar to the action of the horses hoof upon the ground; and these changes may be frequently made within the period between which it would be reasonably: proper to re-' shoe the horse; for, as before stated, the shoes should not be changed upon most-5' horses more than about once a month, while there may be many changes requlred' in the arrangement of the calks during any such periodof one month, especially in the winter time.

As the main wear comes upon the calks, and not upon the body of the shoe, it is manifest that the shoe body will outlast many sets of calks; and the calks may be made of the very best of steel, thereby -ob-' taining an economical shoe and one adapted for allpossiblecontingencies as to requirements in use.

WVhile I have describedmy invention in the form which I prefer in practice, the

having an elongated opening transversely disposed adjacent the toe port-ion of said shoe and extending entirely through the body and said opening having the forward bounding wall curved and the rear bounding wall a plane surface, and also having a downwardly projecting rib extending across the lower surface of said shoe and presenting a plane surface toward the toe portion of said shoe and alined with one side of said opening, in combination with a detachable toe call: bolted to said rib and having an upward extension fitting within said shoe opening and conforming to the contour thereof, said calk having a rear plane surface seating against the plane surface of said rib and having its front surface curved to conform to the curved toe portion of said shoe body and also having an extended shoulder portion at the root of the upward extension of the forward side and resting against the under surface of the shoe body, said calk projecting below said rib and extending substantially from one edge of said shoe to the other to provide a wide strong calk held to the body against vertical and lateral thrust independent of the fastening means.

In testimony of which invention, I hereunto set my hand.

WM. D. P. AIMS, JR. lVitnesses:

R. M. HUNTER, A. M. KELLY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

